Joe Root has become only the second English batter to reach the 10,000 runs mark in Test cricket, and it is getting to the stage where it would be a surprise if he does not end his career as the all-time leading run-scorer in that format.
Root’s latest career milestone came in the opening Test of the summer on Sunday, against New Zealand at Lord’s – his 118th career appearance, aged 31.
The son of the Steel City of Sheffield, Root will soon pass Younus Khan (10,099) on the list of leading run-scorers – there have only been 14 of any nationality to reach 10,000 – with another former Yorkshire overseas player Sachin Tendulkar leading the list with 15,921 runs.
Sandwiched in between is Sir Alastair Cook with 12,472 runs.
Everybody connected with Yorkshire Cricket has long known about Root’s special talents, and that secret has been showcased to the world since his debut at Nagpur in 2012.
Soon, the Harry Brook cat will be out of the bag too!
Root’s 26th Test century – 115 not out, his first in the fourth innings of a game, was main the contribution as England took a 1-0 lead in a three-match series which concludes at Headingley later this month (June 23-27).
It was the same fixture at the same venue, back in May 2013, that saw the right-hander post his maiden Test century.
Root is an artist with bat in hand, and his form has shot through the roof.
He has scored nine of 25 tons during an incredible run of form since the start of 2021, including notching two of his five career double centuries in that time.
He was named as the ICC’s Test Cricketer of the Year for 2021, with his 1,708 runs the third most in a calendar year in Tests.
Root captained England between 2017 and 2022, standing down earlier this year with 27 wins in 64 Tests to his name. Both of those tallies were England records; most Tests as skipper, most wins as skipper.
Everyone is different, of course, but when Tendulkar retired in 2013, he did so aged 40.
Root continues to exude the boyish enthusiasm for the game, so why can’t he go on until he’s at least 40? No reason at all. And you would have though that with the pressures of captaincy gone, his chances of longevity would be increased.
He will also be desperate to help new captain Ben Stokes, one of his closest mates, through his tenure.
Root is super relaxed with bat in hand, so much so that his style kind of reminds you of the famous line from another sporting great, Muhammad Ali: “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”
Root’s next personal milestone will be 15,000 first-class runs.
His first of them came in a Yorkshire shirt when, in May 2010, he scored 14 and 20 not out opening the batting in a friendly against Loughborough University at Headingley.
He had already made his county debut in a 40-over match against Essex at Headingley the previous summer when, aged 18, he scored 63 as an opener. Jonny Bairstow played in the same game, so did Alastair Cook for the Eagles.
Since that first-class debut against Loughborough, Root has totalled 3,644 runs in 55 matches for Yorkshire to date, including passing 100 on nine occasions, including three double centuries.
His latest Yorkshire first-class century was an excellent 147 in the Roses LV= Insurance County Championship draw at Headingley only last month, as he prepared for the ongoing New Zealand series.
Let’s hope he can raise his bat against the Kiwis again in a couple of weeks’ time, just as he did in 2013 to kick-start what has been a mesmerising Test career.
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